I AM MALE HOMOSEXUAL. I CAME TO THIS SITE BY MISTAKE. I WAS LOOKING ONLINE FOR HAIRY ARAB MALE NUDES. IT IS A SHAME THAT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS SO BIASED AGAINST ARABS - BECAUSE OF TERRORISM - THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR ONLINE ARAB ADULT MALE ENTERTAINMENT ONLY END-UP COMING TO POLITICAL SITES LIKE, THIS ONE.

NO OFFENSE TO, Economist; THERE IS A TIME FOR POLITICS AND A TIME FOR SEXUAL FULLFILLMENT.

[I am typing this comment to let Economist know when certain keywords of a sexual nature are typed in search engines, a link for this site appears].

If you were a young Muslim man in Gaza with little access to girls, night clubs, pubs etc (the usual pastimes in the rest of the world) and your choices were between swanning around with a big gun, feeding yourself via the largesse of European dupes and getting nice cars from the same source OR going to work to make a living ...what would you do?? I realize that this is a simplification of the situations in Gaza and many other ME countries but it is certainly a factor. I met many young Libyans while working in Libya who still remembered the best times of their lives as being the years they spent at Universities in the USA, sponsored by US oil companies. As they said, it was the only time they had been free to live a life. When it comes to the boredom and disaffection of young Arab men and the outlet they seek in hatred and violence, the deadening hand of Islam has a lot to answer for........

We should thank them as they are leading us to the end, from where they are, Can they reach the entire world to see the end. Illusions provoked never end stories. An intuition is enough to end the illutions.

I AGREE. THE ARTICLE TITLE IS PROVOCATIVE. IT SEEMS THE LIBERAL MEDIA HAS TO USE SEX TO SELL SO-CALLED, "SERIOUS STORIES." THIS SCREAMS THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW "DANGEROUS" AMERICANS THINK MIDDLE-EASTERNERS TRULY ARE.

Another correction - "kill Kufar" "Kuffar" means "sinners" in Arabic and when radical Moslems use the word they will mean "non Moslems" and generally "Christians", as their faith is considered a sin. Having said that I find it odd a writing on a wall by someone using English to convey a message to his fellow Arabs, unless the writing is for eyes of foreign journalists only. Nevertheless I am sure the person who wrote it must be splitting himself laughing at us trying to decipher the meaning behind the writing, instead of discussing the sillier reason of why man wear beards !

No, Christianity and Judaism are considered "acceptable" faiths compared to others. For example, according to most Sunni schools of thought a Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman, but not a woman of any other faith (or no faith).

Jews and Christians believe if you are not of their religion your destination is hell. Muslims via the Kuran believe that Jews and Christian's are people of the book hence belief in one god, and all stemming from Abraham. However Islam believes the Kuran to be the perfected conclusion, and that The Kuran does not involve the man made additions which according to Islam corrupted Judaism and Christianity.

LoL, and may be partly true too - but more likely that the fundamentalist young men are attracted to the war, from Saudi and similar Sunni countries. In much the same way they went to Chechnia, Bosnia, and then to Al Qaida.

There is no work for the young in most of these countries; males are brought up on the "heros" of the past and the numbers of unemployed young males often goes over 25% of the total population. Add all these things together and throw in the incentive of 'Jihad' and it must be close to irresistible.

It is clearly not only a civil war against the oppression of the Baath Party but a religious war between the Sunni and Shiite forms. It pays to keep in mind that in Europe this religious conflict went on for more than two centuries (say 1500 to 1750 Catholic/Protestant), with the Thirty Years War devastating Central Europe (virtually depopulating a huge region), for 150 years. As a species we never seem to learn from the past.

"ABU AZZAM is a Santa Claus of a man: rotund and stocky, with fat, smiling lips, a twinkle in his eye and a jolly manner. "
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Ossama bin Ladin usually stepped out his cave for annual End-of-the-Year/Christmas Terror Messages to the West delivered by video.

With his white long beard, red fez, and long letter to read, I always thought Ossama to be a 'Bizzaro Santa Claus':
Santa Claus's exact-opposite evil twin brother.

Lives in a cave. Has his trusty AK-47 at his side. Rides in an open motorcycle sidecar. Issues threats all over the world. Has stooped henchmen to carry the load. Has an evil exaggerated laugh. Sends little bombs to all the good little boys and girls. Wants to rule the world in his own special way.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that a lot of the rebel bears came either from people growing them as a physical testament to commitment to vengeance ("I'll shave my beard when Assad is dead." one rebel told a journalist recently), or just as part of rebel necessity and style. When you're off in the hills, who has time to shave? The Cuban revolutionaries were big on beards - see Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. It's not strictly a "terrorist" thing, especially since most actual terrorists don't even dress like Salafists anyway (it tends to give them away).

But extreme beard growth are also associated with Furry Chests, Hairy Backs, and the infamous Hairy Butt.
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The shaving blade is double edged--benefits and risk.
Avoid the extremes.
At the extreme end it is not just having a beard, but being a furry animal.

To describe Europe as non-religious is misnomer. It would be more accurate to say secular. Most European countries, including the most secular ones, still have official, approved churches to which one is registered or declares, determining state revenue support. These tend to be latent institutions that are spiritually inactive, but the infrastructure is still there and could become active in the future. These institutions and landmarks still server important civic interests.

Europe is Christian culturally and shaped by that long history. I may not be a practicing Catholic, but still not eat red meat on Fridays. Turkish aquaintances who tell me that "Christian Europe" opposes their European ambitions have a point.

A Seed for Contemplation
The secret is that one cannot live without love. You’ve got to find the kind that agrees with your spiritual makeup. Once you have it, you find it a delicate thing that can slip away like water through the fingers.
—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

So what does the word "kill" mean in Arabic? Is it only me that notices that when a westerner remarks on something written in Arabic that appears to contradict two of the main tenets of Islam (tolerance and mercy)they are immediately told that they have the translation wrong.......I wonder!